Malay rights group Perkasa today sent a letter of demand to the Health Ministry over the move to waive Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) Bahasa Malaysia qualification for medical graduates seeking to register for house officer training.

Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali said the ministry has seven days to rescind the waiver or a lawsuit will be filed against it in the High Court to force it to do so.

Ibrahim said this is because the move is unconstitutional.

"Perkasa has taken a stand to take to court anyone, including the government, when it comes to issues of national interest.

"This is especially if it has to do with the Federal Constitution and Article 153 which clearly states that Islam is the religion of the federation, Bahasa Melayu is the national language, and the role of the Malay rulers and the special position of the Malays," he told reporters at his office today.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah on Sunday explained that the waiver was to assist medical graduates who did not attend secondary school in Malaysia or went to international school and took the O Levels instead of SPM.

He said the Public Services Department relaxed the requirement on request by the Health Ministry.

According to the Medical Act 1971, medical graduates must undergo compulsory house officer training at teaching hospitals and compulsory public service before they can practise medicine in Malaysia.

Noor Hisham added that the waiver was only for those hired on a contractual basis for the house officer training and compulsory service.

Those applying to join the civil service permanently must have SPM BM qualification, he said.

He was responding to critics who said the waiver undermined the status of BM as the national language.

Medical graduates applying to sit for the BM SPM paper were reportedly told they have to sit for all six core SPM subjects - English, BM, Mathematics, Science and History - and pass BM and History to obtain the certificate.

However, Deputy Education Minister Chong Sin Woon told Malaysiakini the ministry will assist medical graduates to sit for the BM paper only, and not all six core subjects.

Health Minister Dr S Subramaniam and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of the Public Service Department, Joseph Entulu, have been instructed to explain the matter to the cabinet tomorrow.

Ibrahim said the instruction to the two ministers implied that the matter was never discussed by the cabinet before.

"This is something relating to the (Federal) Constitution and it is only brought to the cabinet now that it has become an issue. Why wasn't it discussed by the cabinet before? Didn't the Health Ministry and PSD bring this to the cabinet before?" he asked.

Besides Perkasa, other groups objecting to the move include Umno Youth, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka and the Malaysian Muslim Youth Movement.